Mr D Fox (Counsel). For the v Ms A Esmail (Solicitor) — 2022

The claimant was employed as a Passenger Services Agent from 27 July 1987 and her effective date of termination was found to be 23 October 2020. She presented her unfair dismissal claim on 27 April 2021. Applying the combined effect of s.111 ERA 1996 and the ACAS early conciliation extension in s.207B ERA 1996, the tribunal found the limitation period expired on 5 April 2021, so the claim was late on its face.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had been receiving ad hoc legal assistance from her brother, Sukhjit Ahluwalia, who was a solicitor and who held himself out in correspondence as acting for her. It found that he had been told by ACAS that redundancy claims had a six-month time limit, that this was passed on to the claimant, and that she was therefore under the mistaken belief that she had six months from termination to issue proceedings. The tribunal held that this fell within the Dedman principle, and that the fact the advice was free or informal did not take the case outside that principle.

The tribunal also considered the claimant's evidence that panic attacks and her mental health contributed to the delay. It accepted that this was a factor, but found it was not the main reason for the delay. The tribunal noted that she was able to apply for work and obtain temporary work, and that there was no medical evidence showing she could not have issued the claim before 5 April 2021 even though she managed to do so in late April 2021.

On that basis, the tribunal held that it was reasonably practicable for the claimant to present the claim in time. The claim was therefore out of time, the tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear it, and the unfair dismissal claim was struck out.